


stuck down in paris with you

by for23daisies



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Paris, Fluff, M/M, Renjun is in Love, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:54:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27236848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/for23daisies/pseuds/for23daisies
Summary: “Suck, right?” Renjun quickly turned at the question. “The rain, I mean. I always hate the rain.”Renjun planned a whole year for his transfer just to get the perfect time to enjoy the rain in Paris and the guy in front of him said he hated it. Feeling a bit offended was an understatement, but Renjun wanted to play it cool and asked, “Why do you hate the rain?”
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno
Comments: 6
Kudos: 78





	stuck down in paris with you

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a Parisian, and I wrote the whole setting based on my little research, so if I unintentionally wrote it wrong, or offend anyone with the way I wrote it, please do let me know!
> 
> this is the [playlist🎶](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1qqhYEhQEzhX52pqXnjvUs?si=18can_wtQOanIL-OEvig2w) which accompanied me during the writing process!

It was one in the afternoon when Renjun decided to close his laptop and call his work a day. Renjun was sitting on the chairs in his apartment balcony. There were two small chairs and a round table that he put there for him to enjoy the view. He could see the buildings of 16th Arrondissement from his balcony; right in front of him. Far behind it, there was the Eiffel Tower stood with its wonders. When his days got hard and tiring, Renjun would simply walk out to his balcony and enjoy the view of Eiffel Tower. It could somehow help to calm his mind. Like at this very moment, Renjun looked up from his laptop to get things off of his mind. After a few minute doing nothing than staring at the Eiffel Tower, he got up and went inside, straight to the bathroom; showering. The day had been going a little bit hard for him with all the deadlines from his clients, while his boss kept giving him new tasks. Renjun was an editor in _sunset boulevard_ publishing house, a quite famous Korean-French independent publishing house which had offices both in Korea and Paris. It had only been not more than two weeks since his transfer from Korea office to Paris office, but his boss already seemed to prepare a lot of plansㅡ _jobs_ _ㅡ_ for him to do here.

Renjun had been sighing under the shower, too often to his liking. It was not like he did not expect this. He knew when he said to Donghyuck that he wanted to move to Paris office for a breather, it was a total mistake. But being a stubborn that he was, he thought with the new environment, he could really take things off of his mind, and while it did work, works had been giving him a new stress. It was a never-ending cycle at this point; one problem was solved just to be replaced by another one.

He checked himself in the mirror before stepping out from the bathroom. He was planning to go getting some fresh air outside before he went crazy over the piles of works. Renjun put on his beige t-shirt and pulled out his favorite brown cardigan, just in case the temperature started to drop in the evening. Renjun checked the weather forecast on his phone that predicted it would be raining in the evening; it became the very reason why he decided to go out. May was well-known as the rainiest month in Paris which motivated him to transfer to Paris office right at this month. Paris in the rain was absolutely the best thing in the world that Renjun had always dreamt of, and he could grab it within his hands now. Putting his small umbrella inside his totebag, Renjun headed out.

Being on the sixth floor from the total seven floors of the building surely had its pros and cons. While the view of the sky was one of the prominent pros, the non-existence of the elevator was the biggest cons for Renjun. Being used to his apartment back in Seoul which had lift in each floor, he still found it a struggle to get used to take the stairs to go up and down. Donghyuck had warned him about getting the lower floor apartment instead, but of course stubborn Renjun decided to take the second highest floor for the sake of the view.

Renjun sighed, again, while taking down the last stairs. He opened the front door and was welcomed by the smell of the bakery beside his apartment building. The bakery had a very delicious croissant, Renjun once tried it when he just arrived in Paris, and he ended up going there almost every day. If he could add one more good thing from being in Paris was the existence of the bakery beside his apartment. Renjun liked it; the smell of the dough being baked every time he passed by. He took a mental note to buy some pastries when he got back later for his night snack.

ㅡ

As predicted, rain came in the early evening. He was in a café not far from his apartment; sitting near the window to get a better view of the outside. He could see how the raindrops looked like it turned into golden color under the streetlights. Some people ran through the rain, while he also saw some others shared umbrella to break through the rain. He liked enjoying the rain through the window while the café was playing such calming and romantic songs. Paris café really offered the best songs to fit his mood. Renjun’s chocolate was only half finished when he felt someone suddenly stood near his table; he could see from the corner of his eyes. Feeling weird because he did not make any additional order, he looked up to be met by a pair of such a foreign but beautiful eyes looking at him.

“Can I join?” The stranger was pulling a seat in front of him, stopped in the middle of the action; waiting for Renjun’s response. He was wearing a black t-shirt inside, a broken white leather jacket above it, and jeans for the pants. _Good posture, pretty smile_ , Renjun thought. He mentally slapped his mind for the last one.

“Yeah, sure.” Renjun did not mind for a stranger to join his table. He did not know anyone in Paris except his coworkers, anyway. It was a good chance to make some connections or friends, anything. Besides, the stranger was very good-looking, attractive, and hot. Why would Renjun say no? Renjun took another mental note to manage his mind even better next time. He did not want to sound like a hopeless romantic. Which was not totally untrue, but well.

The stranger pulled the chair more to give him enough space to sit, “It was raining outside and it makes me bored, but there are only both of us in the café, so I was thinking might as well talk to you. Is that okay?”

“Sure. I don’t mind.” Renjun took a sip of his chocolate to make him less nervous. He glanced outside again; seeing the rain could help him calm a bit.

“Suck, right?” Renjun quickly turned at the question. “The rain, I mean. I always hate the rain.”

Renjun planned a whole year for his transfer just to get the perfect time to enjoy the rain in Paris and the guy in front of him said he hated it. Feeling a bit offended was an understatement, but Renjun wanted to play it cool and asked while not making it too obvious that he was offended, “Why?” The stranger lifted up his eyebrows; he waited for Renjun to elaborate the question. “Why do you hate the rain?”

“Oh. I don’t know? I just hate it when rain possibly makes people cancel their plans, the road becomes wet and slippery, people are trapped inside and can’t mobile, just like us. Not to mention if we get soaked because of a sudden rain like today.”

“Well, it was already predicted that it would rain in the evening, actually.” Renjun thought the reasons made sense. Although he did not completely agree, but he understood that not all people liked the rain the way he did.

“You checked the weather forecast?” The stranger seemed surprised.

“You don’t?” Renjun sounded more like offended than surprised, honestly.

“No, I don’t,” He laughed, so enchanting to Renjun’s ears that he felt he could hear the guy laughing for a whole hour. “should have done that just to be prepared, right? Yeah, I’m taking note.” He laughed again and Renjun felt dizzy by the sensation that was sent to his chest. He took another sip. “So you are just here enjoying the rain?”

“Yeah. I like rain a lot.” Renjun gave a little small at the little confession he made. It was because rain was always able to give him that effect whenever he mentioned it.

“Wow, sorry to offend you for saying I hate it. I’m Lee Jeno, by the way.” Renjun was a bit surprised by the mention of the name. Absolutely not someone he was familiar with, but he was pretty sure that this Lee Jeno guy was a Korean.

“I didn’t expect you to be a Korean, though.” Renjun shifted to speak in Korean now, “I’m Huang Renjun.” Jeno seemed surprised by the shift that his eyes turned bigger before he laughed. _That laugh again,_ Renjun was internally struggling.

“This is even more surprising to me. I didn’t expect that you are a Korean at all.”

“Well, I am Chinese, honestly, but long story short, I’ve lived in Korea for more than ten years.”

Jeno nodded; absorbing the information, “Are you here for holiday?”

“Nah, I was just transferred to work here since two weeks ago. How about you?”

“I’m a travel photographer, so my life is always moving, but I have been here for a month now since I have a kinda big project here.”

It was Renjun’s turn to nod this time, “Travel photographer is cool! Can’t imagine how it feels like to have to keep moving.”

“Perhaps that’s why I don’t get used to checking forecast. Because I keep moving, so I just go with it,” They both laughed at the mention of the weather forecast matter again. “Kidding.” Jeno added while continued laughing.

The conversation was unexpectedly going so well. Renjun was surprised that he did not feel awkward at all to exchange stories with Jeno. He even managed to share his complain about the piles of works he had. Perhaps it was because Jeno was always initiating the talk; the never-ending questions and stories that he shared. He had a lot of fun stories as the result of continuously moving from place to place. Or maybe, because Jeno’s voice and laughter were so endearing to hear that Renjun also had to keep talking to hear more of it. When the rain stopped and the sky got even dark, Renjun decided to get back home to work again on his unfinished works. They did not exchange numbers; pretty much because Renjun held onto his pride to not give his number to a person he just met, no matter how attractive they were. Their meeting was wrapped by the exchange of a simple ‘it is nice to talk with you’.

That day, when he came back to his apartment, he forgot to buy some croissant for his night snack; which was pretty weird since there was no way he would forget it when the smell was right there when he opened the door of his apartment building.

ㅡ

Living in one of the apartments in 15th Arrondissement still often surprised Renjun; of how the crowds filled the roads and the stores along the roads. It was totally different from his apartment back in Seoul. Although living in the capital city, Renjun managed to find an apartment quite far from the noise of Seoul. He had to admit that he missed his apartment and the small park in his neighborhood a little bit. Here in Paris, tourists were all over the places since very early. Just like this morning, it was barely ten in the morning when Renjun decided to get something for breakfast. The bakery was already filled with people, bringing the trays while choosing which bread they would love to get. The bakery was quite big, with wooden wall and a big window at the front store. Some pastries were displayed near the window; making Renjun wanted to drop by everytime he passed by the store and saw his favorite almond croissant through the glass. The bakery also had some tables and chairs in front of the store for the visitors who wanted to enjoy their pastries right away.

Renjun added two more croissant and pain aux raisins to his tray. When he turned from the display rack, he was surprised to see the one who was pushing the door right at the moment.

“Hey, you again!”

“Hey, Jeno who hates the rain! Such a surprise to meet you again here.” Jeno was moving aside from the door; closer to Renjun.

“Wow, what a great nickname,” Jeno laughed, still the same laughter from three days ago. Renjun hated himself for knowing it was exactly three days after they met the last time. He did not count, though, he swore. “My office is actually near this neighborhood and my coworkers have been talking about this bakery for so long, so I wanted to give it a try. They said _C’est bon_ offers wonderful pastries.”

Renjun was so excited at the mention of the bakery, “I haven’t known many places here, but I can promise you that this bakery has a very good quality of pastry.” Renjun gave a small laugh, realizing how he just sounded like a salesman.

Jeno laughed too for Renjun’s response, “Have you got yours?” He looked at Renjun’s tray. Renjun nodded. “Do you mind to give me a tour for the bakery?”

“Sure.”

Renjun told Jeno all his favorite pastries from _C’est bon_ ; how he preferred almond croissant rather than the ones with butter or jam inside. It was always easy to share things with Jeno, like how he usually would walk slower when he was passing the bakery because he enjoyed the smell of the dough being baked. Jeno laughed at his little confession, and he just enjoyed the sound of Jeno’s laughter a little bit too much now. They stepped out from the bakery with paper bag in their hands, full of the pastries they have bought.

“Are you going to work after this?” Jeno asked while munching his pain aux raisins.

“I will come to the office later after lunch. Why?”

“Do you want to walk around? You said you haven’t known a lot of places here.”

Renjun looked at the croissant on his hand then to his shoes, and looked up to meet Jeno’s beautiful eyes. “Don’t you have to go back to work?”

“It’s okay, I can come back whenever I want. Not much work to do.” Jeno convinced him with his genuine smile; eyes turned into crescents so beautifully, and the mole under his right eyes was just so cute. Renjun wondered how it felt to kiss the mole. Renjun quickly shook his mind; trying to shake off his uncontrollable thoughts.

“Is that a no?” Jeno sounded surprised, or upset?

Renjun quickly replied, “No! I mean, yes of course. Let’s walk around.”

ㅡ

Walking around with Jeno meant getting firsthand experience on how this guy would always film every path they were passing by. Renjun was always with his camera phone opened too; taking pictures of every interesting thing he saw.

“You should have told me that you were gonna film things. I should have brought my camera too.” Renjun complained. They were walking on the green street beside the Seine River.

“I don’t know you like taking pictures too. Beside, we met by accident, remember?”

Renjun hit his head lightly, “Right. I forgot,” He laughed at his silliness. “Yeah, I like taking pictures, too, especially to build the image in my head when I’m writing stories.”

“I promise I’ll tell you to bring your camera next time.”

 _Next time?_ Renjun’s mind froze on the spot. “Next time?” He repeated, louder to existence this time.

“Yeah, only if you want to, of course.” Jeno answered; eyes were still on his lens. _Think normal, Renjun. It’s a usual hangout like what you usually did with Donghyuck. Stop overthinking,_ Renjun mentally scolded himself.

“Sure,” _Just a friend, Renjun._ “I’d love to.”

“With that being said, do you want to exchange numbers?” Jeno put his camera back to his chest; the strap was hanging from his neck. He reached for his phone in the back pocket of his jeans and gave it to Renjun.

“Of course.” Renjun took it with both hands; mainly for preventing Jeno to see how his hands were shaking from nervous. Jeno took back his phone when Renjun finished typing his number. Renjun’s phone rang; an incoming call from unknown number.

“Save mine too.” Jeno lifted his chin to Renjun’s phone direction; signaling that the unknown number was him.

“ _Gotchu_! Should I name it ‘Jeno who hates the rain’? Renjun joked. He was trying even he knew it was a terrible joke. But Jeno laughed at it, so it was okay. He got to hear Jeno’s laughter again and that was what mattered.

“So, why did you choose Paris? You said you asked for the transfer, right? Is it because Paris is the city of love?” Jeno asked; the last question was asked in a teasing voice.

“Hey, don’t mock me like that!” Renjun stepped on Jeno’s shoes lightly to warn him. Renjun shared about how it felt like hell after his transfer when he actually wanted a breather. “and why is that if the answer is yes?” Renjun pretended to be annoyed.

Jeno laughed so hard at the response Renjun had been giving. “As expected from you, the one who likes the rain.”

“What? that I am a hopeless romantic?”

“Maybe?” with that answer, Jeno got another hit on his elbow. “Aw, that hurts. No, I mean, as a romanticist that you are, of course the escape must be Paris for you.”

“It is indeed romantic, you know. Paris when it’s raining, Paris and its sunsets. It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, of course, Huang Renjun.”

“I’m not going to tell you things like this ever again. And just to remind you, my publishing house is a French-Korean publishing house. The choice is only between Paris or Seoul.”

“There is a term you call resignation, though.” After saying that, Jeno ran away from Renjun to avoid getting another hit.

“Lee Jeno, I’m not going to talk to you at all!” Renjun shouted while followed Jeno; running to chase him.

They parted ways during lunch time. Renjun had to work on something before he went to his office, so he decided to work on it while he was getting his lunch. Their meeting that day was ended with a ‘see you’ and Renjun hoped their next time would come soon, because when he arrived at his apartment to get his things, he realized that he missed Jeno already.

ㅡ

Renjun was making his cereal for breakfast when a ding rang from his phone in his room. Renjun poured the milk to the cereal inside the bowl and hurriedly went to his room after putting the milk carton back in the fridge. He sent a request of appointment for his client earlier this morning, so he hoped it was the answer of the question for his client’s availability. Much to his surprise, it was a text from Jeno.

**08:21 up already?**

**08:25 yup. what’s up?**

**08:26 are you free this sat?**

**i’m planning to stroll around**

**and film something.**

**thinking you might wanna join**

Paused. Renjun needed to think for a while. He still had a lot of works he had to finish, though. It was kind of risky to make promise to go out when he was not even sure he could finish all his works within this week. But it was still Wednesday, so he actually still had plenty of times. Besides, he could use it as a motivation for him to finish all his works before the deadline, so he could spend such a nice weekend with Jeno.

**08:31 sure. where and at what time**

**should we meet?**

**08:31 great**

**08:32 i’ll text you later for**

**the place. see you on sat!**

**08:33 cool**

**08:35 have a good day, jen**

Renjun’s heart beat like crazy when he sent out the last message. He was thinking to un-send it, but it could be even more awkward if Jeno had already seen it. _Was I too obvious?_ Renjun slapped his face lightly. For the love of God, he was such a hopeless romantic and it was showing pretty much obvious by now.

**08:40 have a good day too, jun**

Renjun had been thinking of that message for the whole day that day.

ㅡ

They agreed to meet at 11 in a coffee shop in 15th Arrondissement near Renjun’s apartment. Jeno said it was a quite famous coffee shop owned by an Australian barista. Renjun, despite the location was very near to his place, did not know any of those information.

When Renjun arrived in the coffee shop, Jeno was already sitting in one of the table near the front window. He already had a cup of coffee in front of him. Renjun was not sure what kind of coffee he had. Jeno quickly threw him a smile when he saw Renjun entered the door. Renjun gave him a gesture that he was going to order first. Jeno just smiled back at him, telling him to go on.

“Hey, do you wait too long?” Renjun was just back from the counter. He pulled a chair in front of Jeno.

“Nah, it’s okay. I just arrived around fifteen minutes ago.”

“What did you get for yourself?”

“Americano.”

“Oh, okay.”

Renjun was telling Jeno about the client he met that week and how they were so difficult to deal because his client had a totally different plan from Renjun and no matter how Renjun tried to give a new insight, the client did not seem satisfied.

“People tend to underestimate me just because I’m a young developmental editor, you know. It sucks.” Renjun kicked the floor slightly; showing his annoyance.

“But you found a solution for both sides, right?” Jeno took a sip of his coffee. He had not taken any other sip when Renjun was telling him his story. Renjun noticed. Jeno was focusing on listening to him that he forgot to drink his coffee.

“Yeah. Thankfully, I could manage to give a win-win solution for us, or else I wouldn’t be here with you now.” Jeno laughed at that. Renjun realized by now that those laugh could lift up anything that made his chest stuffy. Because, when he heard that laugh at the moment, he felt lighter as if the burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He could always find a breather every time he met Jeno and got to listen to his laugh.

The waiter interrupted their conversation to serve Renjun’s order. It brought Renjun back from his thoughts. Jeno peered at his cup, “What did you order?”

Renjun nodded and smiled to the waiter; giving his gratitude for the service, “Jasmine tea.”

“What?” Jeno was surprised which made Renjun even more surprised. “You don’t drink coffee?”

Renjun took a sip of his tea, did not forget to enjoy the calming smell of jasmine, “Nah, I can’t take coffee. It makes me dizzy.”

“You should have told me.”

Renjun put his cup back on the table, “Why?”

“I wouldn’t ask you to meet in a coffee shop if I knew you can’t drink coffee.”

“It’s okay, Jen. There are other things on the menu.”

“But jasmine tea suits you a lot.”

“That again,” Renjun laughed. “What is the reason this time?”

“No explanation, it’s just it is.”

“Now I knew you also identify people based on their drinks.” Jeno laughed at Renjun’s (another) terrible joke. “I remember back then, when I was asked about my favorite flowers, I answered jasmine for the sole reason that I always drink jasmine tea.”

Jeno’s laugh got louder, “What? How could you think of that when jasmine tea doesn’t even show you any picture of the jasmine itself?”

“I don’t know! I just blurted out. I didn’t have any favorite flower at the moment, so I just answered with whatever came up first in my mind, and I was holding my jasmine tea. Sometimes when I think about it again now, it felt so silly.”

“How about now?” Renjun waited Jeno to continue his question; he did not get what Jeno meant. “What’s your favorite flowers now?”

“Basically, I love every beautiful thing, so I love all the flowers, but I think I love daisy a little more than other flowers.”

“Why?”

“Daisy symbolizes hope. Just thinking of it while looking at the flowers can reassure me that there is always hope.”

Jeno nodded while taking his camera from the table, “Can I take your photos?” He asked very carefully, and Renjun just found that it was a very gentleman of Jeno to ask his permission like that.

“Sure. You don’t need to ask me next time.”

They decided to leave the coffee shop five minutes later. Renjun saw Jeno walked closer to a motorbike which was parked in front of the coffee shop. It was a British motorbike with _Triumph_ written on its body. The seat was made from brown leather. It was in contrast with the rest of the part which was painted black. Renjun’s mouth was agape at the sight. Jeno was wearing black t-shirt and black leather jacket. Black jean was tight wrapped his long legs. He was standing beside the bike, all black and perfect.

Jeno hit his arm slightly with the helmet, “You good?”

Renjun blinked once, twice, thrice, “Yeah. Good. I was just surprised. Your bike looks so cool,” He took the helmet from Jeno’s hand, “You wanna show off, huh?”

Jeno burst into laughter, “Don’t forget to lock the helmet,” He tapped the seat behind him twice, “Hop on!”

“You’re gonna film the streets while riding a bike?” Renjun was already sitting behind Jeno. He suddenly felt very much nervous. The proximity made his cheeks felt warm. He tried so hard avoiding his reflection on the bike mirror, so Jeno would not see how he blushed.

“Oh, right. I forgot to tell you something,” Jeno turned around facing Renjun now. The action was so sudden and Renjun was not prepared. “Can I ask for your help?” Jeno put on his puppy eyes out of sudden and the urge to kiss him right on the lips was suddenly so strong. Renjun totally lost his mind.

“Is it the cost I have to pay for the ride?” Jeno hit Renjun’s helmet with his; making Renjun’s heart almost fell to the ground. Renjun threw a small laughter just to make him less nervous, “Cool! I can do that for you. Don’t blame me if the shot is disappointing, though.”

Jeno just smiled; the usual beautiful smile. Don’t blame Renjun if he ended up saying yes to every of Jeno’s requests. No one could say no when Jeno gave out his puppy eyes and crescent eye-smile after that. Renjun took over the camera which had been hanging on Jeno’s neck. He put the strap circling his neck and got his hands ready for the shutter. Jeno started the engine, and they rode passing through the 15th Arrondissement streets.

ㅡ

“Do you like the crepe so much?” Jeno asked. They were stopping by when they saw a store in 7th Arrondissement selling some crepes and ice creams. They were sitting on the bike beside the road now.

“Mm.” Renjun did not even bother to reply as he was busy munching the crepe.

Jeno wiped out some chocolates left at the corner of Renjun’s mouth with his thumb. Renjun froze at the sudden contact. He could not even step back since they were sitting on the bike. “Uh, sorry. It’s been there for a while, I justㅡ”

“It’s okay.” Renjun did not know how to respond, but he did not want to give impression that Renjun was uncomfortable with the contact.

“It’s a reflect, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, I said It’s okay, Jeno.” Renjun offered a smile, tried to convince Jeno that it really was okay.

“Sorry for surprising you like that. Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“No! What? Of course not.” Renjun answered it fast. He really did not want to make Jeno thought he was uncomfortable with him, because the fact was otherwise.

“Good. Should we continue the ride?”

Renjun nodded and they continued to stroll around. Renjun had stopped filming as Jeno told him he already got a lot of material for his contents.

When they were back on the road, Jeno asked from the front; voice was a bit loud, afraid that Renjun would not catch what he said, “Do you wanna see some flowers?” Jeno’s eyes were on the bike mirror; anticipating to see Renjun’s response at the back. Their eyes met through the mirror.

“Sure.”

Jeno went slower when they saw flower shops area in front of them. Jeno parked his bike in front of one of the shops. Renjun hopped off of the bike. He was going to take off the helmet when he realized that the lock was stuck. He could not unlock it.

“Should I help?” Jeno asked when he was seeing Renjun struggling with his helmet. Renjun was thinking over the offer. He was unnecessarily nervous everytime he had any contact with Jeno. It was not good at all for his heart. “Come here, let me help.” Jeno pulled Renjun’s arm closer so he could help unlocking the helmet. Jeno was still sitting on his bike and Renjun was standing in between Jeno’s legs which were spread wide. It was an easy task to do for Jeno to unlock it. After he was done, he stood up, hit Renjun’s helmet slightly while he walked away from him and the bike.

“Aw! That hurts, Jeno!” Renjun yelled while hurriedly put the helmet on the seat and followed Jeno to the flower shop.

Renjun was busy taking pictures of the flowers displayed in front of the shop when Jeno came to his sight with a bouquet full of daisies. He touched Renjun’s arm and gave the flowers to Renjun, “For you. Thank you for helping me a lot today.” Jeno smiled while looking at him so tenderly. Renjun could feel how genuine his gratitude was, so he took the bouquet and smiled back.

“It was nothing, honestly. You didn’t need to buy me anything. I had a lot of fun today with you, Jeno.”

“It’s okay. I just wanted to give you that. You can put it in a vase in your apartment. I just thought you wouldn’t have enough time to think about preparing flowers for your room, right?”

Renjun was putting his offended face just to tease Jeno, “While it wasn’t totally wrong, you don’t need to insult me like that, you know.”

Jeno laughed while sticking out his tongue, “I understand how busy you are, Editor Huang. At least, there should be one person who cares enough for the freshness of your room.” Jeno got a small punch on his arm for that.

“Anyway, I was thinking to offer you a dinner at my place. I can cook for both of us.” Renjun said while he was busy smelling the flowers.

“I will never say no to free food, Renjun.” They shared laugh together, and Renjun was happy that Jeno took his offer.

Their way back home was filled with another stories and laugh shared between them. The sky was already dark and people were all over the places. It was even more crowded since it was weekend.

“I gotta warn you that my apartment building doesn’t have elevator and I live in the sixth floor.” Renjun said while pushing the door of the building.

“And you do it all for what? Jeno teased, “Views? As expected from Huang Renjun.”

“Stop teasing or I’m gonna kick you.”

“It’s still so amusing to me that your small hands and feet actually have a quite strong power to punch and kick me.”

“That’s the power of Huang Renjun, you know.” Renjun said while showing his fist to Jeno. Jeno responded by hitting back Renjun’s fist slightly with his.

Renjun entered his passcode and after the _bip_ sound, he let Jeno in. Renjun quickly rushed to the kitchen to take out his vase and fill it with water; putting the daisies inside it after that. He divided the daisies into two vases, so he could put it in the living room and his own room.

“You have such a comfortable apartment.” Jeno said while looking around.

“Oh my God! I was busy preparing the flowers until I forgot to even let you sit,” Renjun ran back to the kitchen, “Do you want me to make you tea or coffee while I’m preparing dinner? I have only instant coffee, though.”

“Just water, please.”

“Okay, wait. You can sit wherever you want, or turn on the television too. Make yourself at home.”

Renjun gave Jeno a glass of water and went back to the kitchen. Jeno followed behind.

“Do you want me to help with anything?”

Renjun started taking out all the ingredients that he needed from the fridge. The domesticity of this exact scene sent shiver down Renjun’s spine. A year ago, when he was preparing for his transfer, he never thought he would actually have a guy guest in his apartment for the whole of his stay in Paris.

“No, It’s okay. I can manage.”

“Okay. Just tell me if I can help with anything.” Renjun could hear Jeno was pulling the chair of the dining table. Renjun took a glance at Jeno behind him. He was checking his camera.

“I hope I really didn’t ruin your videos. I swear.”

“Rest assured, everything is okay, Jun. You did a great job,” Jeno’s eyes were still on his camera. “Anyway, I’m gonna upload it on YouTube. I’ll let you check it once I finish editing the videos.”

“I was kinda surprised that there was no conversation in the video. I thought you would explain the trip or something.” Renjun commented while he was cooking spaghetti. He was making Aglio e Olio for both of them.

“It’s actually up to the video maker, but I used to stroll alone, so I didn’t actually have any conversation with anyone, and speaking alone to the camera is kinda awkward, you know.”

“That’s why you chose to be the silent walker?” Renjun chuckled. Now he was serving the spaghetti to the plates.

“I guess it’s much simple for me. What people needs is to see the views, anyway.”

Renjun turned and brought two plates to the dining table, “Sorry, I could only cook you this. Promise you, I’ll make something better next time.”

“No, it’s actually more than okay.” Jeno accepted the plate from Renjun’s hand. They ate while continued talking about the videos they took today and many other things.

“I have always been into arts since I was child. I learned a lot from my cousins,” They were sharing their interests. It was mostly Renjun telling about all the fascinating things he had in his mind, while Jeno patiently listened to him. “I have a lot of cousins, you know. I have some French cousins too.”

“Your family seems like a multinational family.” Jeno chuckled.

“It was one of the reason why I’m fluent in French.”

“Tell me about it.”

“One of my aunts was married to a French man, and none of their children could speak Chinese. There was one time when I traveled to Paris, I was nine at that time, language barrier was a big problem. I couldn’t enjoy the trip because I couldn’t even play with them nor speak to them. So it motivated me to learn French just so that I could talk to them.” Their dinner was already done since a while ago; they moved munching the cookies on the table now. Renjun stocked it since he was usually hungry at late night. “I was mostly self-learned until I was eleven, then my mom told me I could take formal course to learn French. Guess my mom was surprised I was that dedicated to learn French.” Renjun continued.

“How about your Korean? You also self-learned it?” Jeno stayed interested.

“I had Korean class in school since I was young, and when I moved to Korea when I was fifteen, I adjusted to it very quick.”

“That’s so amazing of you to be that dedicated to learn things.”

“I think it’s because I’m stubborn.” Renjun admitted.

“How about the art?”

“My French cousins, they introduced me to many kind of arts, though I can only draw.”

“You are in Paris now. There must be lot of places you want to visit here.”

“Yeah. I really want to go to every museum and just enjoy all the arts in front of my eyes. Gonna find some times when works are less stressful. How about you, Jeno? How did you learn French?”

“Nothing special. My parents simply enrolled me to the formal course back when I was in high school. I took English and French class. Dad said that would be so much useful for me in the future. Well, he wasn’t totally wrong.”

“How about photography? Or travel photography? How did you come up with that decision?”

“Camera has always been my best friend since I was very young. I just went with it.”

“That sounds very much like Jeno; going with the flow.”

Jeno laughed at Renjun’s little comment. “Mom and Dad are always busy with work, so I don’t really have anyone to come home to, I think that’s why I chose to keep moving from place to place.”

Renjun nodded. He understood, though not totally know how it felt to have always been alone since young. He always had his cousins, so home was not very quiet when his mom and dad were working outside. Even when he moved to Korea and left all his cousins, he always had Donghyuck sticking with him since they were neighbors. They were never separated since then. Renjun could never imagine how it felt to be all alone, but the idea of traveling from place to place alone and meeting new people always excited Renjun, though.

Renjun realized their empty plates had not been touched since they were too immersed in their conversation. With a sudden realization, Renjun got up and took the empty plates.

“I’m gonna make chamomile tea for us. Do you want it?” Renjun asked while put their plates to the sink.

“Sure.”

“I just need to boil the water. It won’t take long.”

Jeno stood up from his chair and walked to the sink. It was when Renjun realized that Jeno took off his leather jacket, left him with only black t-shirt that fit his body; making the toned biceps transparent to the view. Renjun knew Jeno had such a great body and posture, but knowing that Jeno was here in his apartment with that look made it difficult for Renjun to think.

“Jeno, no need. I can wash the dishes later.”

Thinking about Jeno washing the dishes while he was the one who cooked earlier made himself dizzy. He had had too much fun the whole day. He needed a ground to step on. Renjun walked closer to Jeno to stop him from doing the dishes when he realized that it was just another mistake that he made that night. Their fingers brushed and it sent electricity to Renjun’s skin. Weirdly enough, Jeno was just standing there looking at him intensely. At this point, he could feel how his cheeks turned extremely red, and Jeno staring at him did not help to make it better at all. Renjun was too afraid to look up. The whole scene was actually too awkward for him. He could imagine what would come next if it was a romantic movie he watched on the television. The thing was, he was not even sure if his take of this situation was right. Renjun could not help but looked up to find Jeno’s eyes when he felt there was no movement from Jeno; no moving forward nor moving away.

Jeno’s eyes were so beautiful and his mole was so cute. He just could not hold himself not to stare at it. It was alluring. He just wanted to stare at it for so long. Jeno looked back at him right in the eyes. Renjun was aware how he leaned in close, and with that, Renjun was sure where this was going, so he closed his eyes.

 _Ding!_ It was a sound of the kettle. Renjun’s water for the chamomile tea was ready. He really wanted to curse; at the kettle, at himself. This was the most awkward situation he was ever in. When he opened his eyes, Jeno was already retracting himself back.

“I’ll wash the dishes. You can make the tea for us.” Jeno said so calmly as if they were not just failed to kiss; only if Renjun’s take was right.

“Okay.” Renjun quickly moved from there and he just wished that when they woke up the next morning, the both of them would forget what happened that night.

ㅡ

It was three days after that night. Renjun was leaning on the railing of his balcony; looking at the view of Eiffel tower from his balcony while he was talking to Donghyuck through the phone. He had been feeling so anxious the past three days because Jeno had not sent him any text since that night, and he was too afraid to send one first. He thought he had screwed up everything, and for what he was so scared of, he did not know. It was not like he was very close to Jeno, anyway.

“I closed my eyes, Hyuck! I was fucking closing my eyes just because I felt he was leaning closer! How if I took the situation wrong?” Renjun hit the railing with his fist slightly. For the first time during his stay in Paris, Eiffel could not calm him the way it used to be.

 _“Yeah, but you saw him leaning in, Renjun. That could be a biggest signal. So if he didn’t want it, he shouldn’t have done that in the first place at all.”_ Renjun heard his best friend answering from the other side of the world. It was past midnight in Seoul while it was only nine at night in Paris. Renjun decided to call when Donghyuck said he was resting for a while in between his works.

“He didn’t contact me. It’s been three days.”

 _“Do you like him that much?”_ Renjun only responded with the sound of his tongue clicking; adding rolling eyes which Donghyuck of course could not see. _“No, seriously, Junnie. This isn’t like you at all. You never thought much of the guys who ghosted you before.”_

“I don’t know, Hyuck. Must be the Paris.”

_“What? What kind of excuses is that? Now you blame Paris for it?”_

“No! I mean, I’m in Paris. The city of love that I’ve always dreamt of.”

Renjun sounded genuinely sad. He just enjoyed Jeno’s presence a lot. He had been spending his time with Renjun a lot during Renjun’s stressful period. Renjun missed Jeno’s laughter too, and how his eyes wrinkled when he smiled.

_“For the love of God, you are such a hopeless romantic!”_

“Figured. I know it too well; you don’t need to spit it out for me. Thank you very much.”

_“Well, Jun. Just as you said, the right person will eventually come. Relax. You got piles of works you have to finished. Don’t let this distract you. Who knows he might be just busy these past few days, or yeah, if it turned for the worst, move on, man! Paris is just too beautiful to let it pass just because of one guy, isn’t it?”_

“Yeah, you’re right. Guess I need to clear my mind. Thanks, Hyuck. I know it’s late there and you’ve also had a lot on your hands.”

_“Sap! Stop that. It’s not the first time you bothered me, anyway. We always do that to each other. I’ll go work again now. You better go sleep to clear your mind. G’nite.”_

“Night, Hyuck.”

Renjun picked up his notes and laptop from the table and headed inside his apartment. Closing the window and the curtain, he then turned off the lamp and decided to sleep early that night.

Renjun woke up the next morning very early since he had to meet his clients at nine in the office. He did not even have time to check his phone since he woke up. His client suddenly changed their mind about the draft of their book and they needed to meet Renjun as soon as possible to re-arrange everything. Renjun had complained to Donghyuck too last night when they were on call. Renjun had already had a lot of tasks that week because he needed to adjust some other things with the other editors too, but here he was; meeting the client for a sudden change. Renjun hated changes, moreover if that meant it would affect all the plans and timetable he had already made. But he could not do anything about it either, if he still wanted to work in this publishing house.

Renjun just had time to check his phone in the afternoon when he finally got some time off to go to the nearest restaurant to get his lunch. He was lining up in front of a middle eastern restaurant which was famous of their delicious falafel in town. He was craving for sandwich and he had been curious to try their menu, so, even if the queue was pretty long, he was still willing to wait patiently for his turn. He took out his phone from his jeans pocket and surprised when he saw on his screen, there were three messages from Jeno this morning.

**09:13 hey how are you?**

**09:13 i’ve been surprisingly busy**

**after the weekend**

**10:45 seems like you’re busy right now.**

**call you later!**

**13:40 omg, jen! sorry, i’ve been meeting**

**clients since this morning.**

**13:41 i’m lining up for my lunch right now,**

**haha**

**13:42 god, it’s pretty late for lunch**

**13:43 what will you get?**

**13:43 falafel sandwich. i’ve been curious**

**of how it tastes. finger crossed.**

**13:44 haha**

**13:44 enjoy your lunch**

**13:45 do you have anything to talk to me**

**about?**

**13:46 ah, i forgot to show you**

**the video from last weekend**

**13:46 but i already uploaded it, and**

**the response is pretty good.**

**13:47 they like the video you filmed**

**13:48 i have another thing to tell you,**

**but i’ll tell you after work**

**13:50 okay! it’s almost my turn now.**

**talk to you later, jen**

**13:51 talk to you later, jun**

It was a bad idea to open Jeno’s message before he got his sandwich because now he could not stop thinking about the things Jeno wanted to tell him. He was so nervous remembering that there was a possibility it was about the night they almost kissed. At the thought of kissing, Renjun shivered. It could be a mixed signal and Renjun was taking it wrong, but frankly after getting Jeno’s message he felt a bit relieved. Jeno sounded like the usual him. He said he was busy after the weekend, though. Perhaps Donghyuck was right, or it could all be just an excuse, Renjun did not know, and he was not sure he wanted to know either. But after he got his falafel sandwich and was heading back to his office, he decided to shrug that thoughts off from his mind. He needed to enjoy his falafel and got back to work. He took a picture of his falafel sandwich and sent a picture to Jeno. _**You should try this later. It’s so good.**_ Jeno replied to his message few minutes later, but he did not check it; more for the sake of his stability to work and not think about Jeno too much for the rest of the day.

Jeno texted him again in the evening when he just finished showering. Renjun reached for his phone which was on his nightstand.

**14:25 that looks delicious.**

**you have to take me there**

**18:05 off work already?**

**18:10 surprisingly, yes**

**18:11 up for call?**

**18:12 sure**

Jeno called right after Renjun pressed the send button.

 _“Hey,”_ Jeno said which was replied by another ‘hey’ from Renjun. _“How was work?”_ Renjun was sighing; loud enough which made Jeno laughed. The laughter which had been filling Renjun’s mind these past few days. He could finally hear that laughter again, and everything suddenly felt much better. His piles of works were still there on his desk; needed to be finished, his clients were still waiting for his responses this week, his boss was still expecting for higher outcomes this month. But as of the moments, any other things did not matter for him. He could think about all of those burdens later. He just needed to hear that laughter again and again to make him feel better.

“Works have been like hell.”

_“Well, maybe you will feel better after hearing the news I have for you.”_

Renjun was about to walk to his desk but halting right away when Jeno mentioned about ‘a news’. At a brighter side, some burdens felt lifted from his shoulders knowing that the thing Jeno was about to tell him was not something related to the Saturday night accident.

“Oh? What’s that?”

_“If you are free this Friday, I want to take you to Atelier des Lumieres. I got the tickets for van Gogh exhibition for us.”_

Renjun felt the urge to jump out the window at the moment he heard about his long dream art center to visit. He remembered he said to Jeno about him wanting to visit every museum and art exhibition here in Paris, but he never expected that Jeno would actually remember about it. It was only one of those ramblings Renjun shared with Jeno.

“Van Gogh exhibition?” Renjun was half screaming to the phone; it was too overwhelming.

 _“Yeah. If you’re free_ _ㅡ”_

“I’m free! I’ll make my schedule free for the exhibition. God, it’s my longtime dream!” Renjun could hear Jeno responded with laughter; a warm laughter one.

_“Okay then. See you on Friday? I’ll pick you up.”_

“Okay,” Renjun paused for a while. “Jen, thank you.” It was sincere. He was very thankful for Jeno; for every of the new experiences Jeno had shared with him.

_“I’m glad that the news can make up for what you’ve been through today.”_

He realized then, why it was different with Jeno; why he was so scared when Jeno did not text him, of the possibility that whatever he had with Jeno would end. Jeno was a gentleman; he was a sweetheart who would always listen to every story Renjun told him. He never got bored of all the ramblings Renjun shared; always being so enthusiastic and supportive to all the dreams Renjun shared with him. Jeno would listen to his story like other things did not matter at the moment; his coffee turned cold, food left untouched. Jeno was a good listener; he did not always give answers to all the wonders Renjun conveyed, but he always listened well, and sometimes asked more questions that made Renjun even more excited to share what was on his mind. Jeno did not tell much about his dreams, but he always shared with Renjun every story he observed behind his lens. Jeno was much more expressive through his photographs, and Renjun always admired Jeno for that.

ㅡ

Jeno was extremely nervous when he looked at himself on the mirror; black pants, grey t-shirt, with lighter grey coat. He was thinking if it was too much for a date. Right, Jeno could call it a date now. He dared to name his hangout with Renjun as a date. He never mentioned it to Renjun that he asked him for a date tonight, though. He hoped Renjun could catch the codes. He looked at the mirror for the last time before he finally picked his car key on his desk and headed out. He had checked his white vintage Mercedes this morning. That car had not been used recently since Jeno mostly always brought his motorbike. Not wanting the car to ruin his date if the engine suddenly decided to not work; he went to check his car very early this morning; making his coworker wondered seeing Jeno with his car parked in front of their office. His motorbike was like his identity, so it was understandable when everyone knew there had to be something. Jeno was always like an open book, anyway. His coworkers knew he would have a date even when he did not tell them about that. Jeno decided to bring his car just because he wanted to let Renjun experience the thrills of an open-air driving.

Jeno arrived at five, texted Renjun right away after he parked his car. **I’m downstairs, take your time to walk down the stairs** , he said; joking about how Renjun’s apartment was on the sixth floor out of seven. Renjun appeared from the door of his apartment building; wearing a denim jean, his black turtleneck shirt was tucked inside the jeans, and a beige coat was wrapping his petite figure. He looked so stunning as usual, and Jeno was star-struck; he did not understand how someone could be unbelievably beautiful. It did not last long because Jeno was aware that Renjun looked confused. He did not recognize the car parked near the building was Jeno’s. Jeno used his car horn to get Renjun’s attention. When Renjun looked at his direction, Jeno waved at him while offering his best smile. Jeno got off from his car. He ran a little to open the door at the other side; gesturing Renjun to get on.

“I was confused for a while. I didn’t expect you would bring a car,” Renjun said. He scanned Jeno’s car very quick. “and your car looks so amazing. Wow, it doesn’t have a roof!”

Jeno laughed. Renjun had always had this power to make him laugh. He had a lot of wonders within himself, and the way he got impressed by small things was always the cutest thing for Jeno. “I want to take you on an open-air driving. You would like it.”

“Bet you’re right.”

The drive from Renjun’s place to Atelier des Lumieres took half an hour. Jeno just wished the traffic would be just fine as he had predicted. Perfect scores for Jeno’s guess, Renjun was enjoying the ride a lot. He kept on saying ‘wow’ while raising his hands; letting the wind to go passing in between of his fingers. When Renjun closed his eyes for once in a while, Jeno thought there was no other thing that was more beautiful than Huang Renjun.

“You are always full of surprises, you know.” Renjun said, eyes were still closed. Jeno just replied with a simple ‘hm-mm’ while continued driving; eyes focused on the road after giving Renjun a short glance. “Remember the first time when you approached me in the café?”

“The first day we met?”

“Yeah. You surprisedㅡoffended me, honestlyㅡ when you said you hated rain; you surprised me when you introduced your name; not stopping there, one morning you showed me your big motorbike, and tonight you suddenly showed up with a car without a roof!” Renjun recalled.

“Save that amusement for later, Jun. We gotta see much more than that tonight.”

Renjun quickly opened his eyes at the mention of their destination, “I held myself to not check the exhibition in the internet just because I want to experience it the first time tonight,” He raised both of his hands again out of sudden, “Ah! I’m so excited!” He screamed at the open space. The view was so beautiful for Jeno; more than the Eiffel tower could offer.

When they were arrived at the Atelier des Lumieres, Renjun suddenly made a little jump on the ground where he stood, before entering the front gate.

“I feel so nervous for I don’t know why.” He said while he pressed his fingers to his palms even harder.

“You’re just too excited. It’s going to be fun. Relax.” Jeno put his hand on Renjun’s back; rubbed it a circle to calm him down, and give him support that Jeno would be here with him. Jeno pushed Renjun’s back lightly, so that they could proceed to enter the hall.

When they were inside, they were immediately welcomed by a huge wall at the center projecting the portrait of Vincent van Gogh painted in dominant yellow color. They were surrounded by all the amazing arts projected on the walls, colors scattered on the ceilings, and even under their feet; on the ground they stepped on. Renjun’s eyes were fixed on each of the wall; mouth was agape for admiration and respect. Renjun did not realize when he started to walk a little bit faster; leaving Jeno behind. Jeno needed to touch Renjun’s arm to get his attention.

“Too excited, huh? You already forget me.” Jeno pretended he was sulking.

Renjun laughed while clapping once, twice. It was one of Renjun’s habit when he laughed; he would suddenly make his head fall to the back which worried Jeno if he would hit anything behind him. He would also clap when he laughed, a total adorable habit that Jeno would not be bored to witness. He was not sure if Renjun realized it.

“Sorry, I was just so _so_ amazed,” He walked back closer to Jeno. “Jen, this is so amazing!”

When they were about to move around, all the lights were suddenly turned off. Renjun held onto the tip of Jeno’s sleeve. His fingers brushed slightly upon Jeno’s skin. Jeno keened to the slight touch. There was suddenly a loud sound appearing along with the changing screens at the wall; the hall was transformed into surreal world of immersive arts and colors with enticing music. The walls were projecting the Dutchman’s paintings; brought it more lively with the use of technology. The show was opened with the display of the _Sunflowers_ painting. Renjun walked forward; trying to get a better view of the arts displayed before his eyes. Jeno followed behind. While Renjun was busy observing the painting of yellow sunflowers in the yellow vase and yellow background; the fourth version of Vincent van Gogh’s _Sunflowers_ , Jeno could only stare at him, because he was very aware of how adorable Renjun was when he was focused. He would not realize when his brows suddenly furrowed, or when his lips slightly parted, or when he pressed it into a thin line.

Jeno couldn’t help but walked closer to Renjun; reaching for his hand. He took that little hand on his; holding it tighter. Renjun looked at him for the sudden touch; eyes sparkling from wonders, nose wrinkled when he smiled at Jeno. Jeno really wanted to kiss that small and beautiful nose, so he leaned in and kissed the tip of Renjun’s nose lightly. He could feel how Renjun stiffened under his touch. Jeno tightened his grip on Renjun’s hand while the other hand reaching for Renjun’s chin to lift it up. He leaned lower then, took Renjun’s lips with his. Renjun smiled to their kiss. Jeno broke the kiss to look at Renjun’s eyes; found the peace he had been searching for.

“It’s beautiful.” Renjun said; talking about the exhibition.

“Yeah, so beautiful,” Jeno said, eyes were still looking at Renjun’s beautiful orbs. “You are more than beautiful, Renjun. You’re breathtaking." Jeno’s thumb rubbed the corner of Renjun’s lips. Renjun’s cheeks turned pink; clearly blushed at the compliment. Jeno took a mental note to compliment Renjun more often after he knew the effect he gave on the petite boy in front of him.

“I was talking about the exhibition, Jeno.”

“I know,” Jeno looked around, “and while the arts in every side of the walls take you in wonder, you have already done that to me all this time, Renjun. You are the art I’ve always admired.”

“I didn’t know you’re so good at giving cheesy lines. Always full of surprises.”

“You make me do that. I only do this to you.”

“Stop it, Jen. Don’t do that to me. I need to step on the ground.”

“I’ll make sure to hold you from flying.” Jeno swayed their intertwined hands; made his presence known.

After the show ended, Renjun and Jeno continued walking to every side of the place while holding hands. A song titled _Vincent_ in another version from the original one was playing behind. It accompanied their walk around the exhibition; making them even more immersed to the arts displayed. Jeno thought that the song really suited Renjun; as if it was the kind of conversation Renjun would have when he could meet Vincent van Gogh. Jeno smiled to himself at the realization of how much Renjun had filled his mind all this time; to the point he could figure all of the things matched to Renjun’s taste.

“What was so funny, Jeno? Why are you smiling to yourself?” Renjun stopped from walking and looked at Jeno. The latter was actually surprised that Renjun noticed.

“I was just thinking that this song really suits you,” Jeno caressed Renjun’s crown. “It’s the kind of conversation you would have if you could meet van Gogh.”

Renjun furrowed his brows, “How is that?”

“It’s just the way you appreciate arts that always amazes me, and all the wonders that you have inside this small head.” Jeno cupped Renjun’s face in his hands. Jeno realized how both of his hand could cover the whole of Renjun’s small face. He gave a peck on Renjun’s lips. “You drive me crazy, Huang Renjun.” Renjun tried hard to let go off Jeno’s hands; complaining because Jeno was at it again, giving cheesy lines. It cringed Renjun so much.

“Say it again and I’ll actually punch you.”

Jeno laughed. Renjun never failed to make him laugh, “Anyway I was about to ask you whether you want to drop by at my place after this. Let’s have a dinner at my place.” Jeno offered with his puppy eyes because he knew Renjun could not resist and would fall for it.

“Yeah, sure. Do you have anything in mind that you want to eat for dinner?”

“Let’s think about it on the way home.” Jeno concluded while taking Renjun’s hand, held it again and he did not have any plan to let it go. Renjun just realized by now how Jeno could be so clingy.

ㅡ

After they went to every corner of the hall and looked at every art displayed, they decided to go back home. The major reason was because their stomach already made noises asking to be filled. Jeno did not let go of Renjun’s hands even one second since they walked around the exhibition. Even while he was driving, he chose to drive using one hand while the other hand was holding Renjun’s hand tightly. Sometimes he used his thumb to rub Renjun’s hand; small gesture that made Renjun warm, or he would take Renjun’s hands while whispering sweet things and kissed it after. Jeno always treated him so tenderly, but tonight was just so different.

Jeno’s apartment was in 8th Arrondissement; pretty close to Renjun’s place. The building was painted broken white with all the railings of the balcony painted black. Jeno’s place was in the third floor. When Renjun arrived, he was surprised because the inside of Jeno’s apartment really screamed Jeno’s personality; neat and calm. Near the door was where Renjun put his shoes and hung his coat. He was left with only his turtleneck on. From the door, Renjun could see the window to the balcony at the other side of the room; a round dining table with two chairs were placed near the window, giving a nice view if he sat on the chair while looking outside the window. At his right, there was where the sofa and his television placed. The brown sofa looked so warm and cozy. Jeno had such a beautiful fireplace too.

When he looked at his kitchen, Renjun was more surprised, “Wow, you have such a great kitchen.” Jeno followed to where Renjun’s eyes were fixed. He was aware that he had a great kitchen with a complete equipment, honestly it was such a waste because he did not cook for himself after all. The kitchen was only used to make his coffee and toast for his breakfast, or instant ramen at night when he was craving for it.

“I’m not actually using it to its full potential. I don’t cook,” Jeno walked to his kitchen and poured some water to two glasses, “Well, I can’t cook.” He admitted, more to himself rather than to Renjun.

Renjun chuckled, “Figured.” He took the glass of water from Jeno’s hand and started to walk around Jeno’s apartment.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll just put my coat in my room for a while.” Then Jeno walked to the door at the other side of the room near the kitchen; behind the kitchen was where Jeno’s bedroom was. Renjun went to check Jeno’s fridge to see what he could make for their dinner. When he saw that the fridge was empty, Renjun let out a small sigh while laughed at the same time. What was he expecting for someone who did not even cook for himself? Renjun closed the fridge and walked to the other side of the room. There was another window near the sofa. He stood behind the closed window; looking up outside. The sky was pretty clear that night; stars were spread out so beautifully.

“You can still get to see a nice view even you don’t live at the highest floor right?” Jeno said while closing the door of his room. Jeno would always tease Renjun about that; Renjun knew he would not stop.

Jeno was only on his black t-shirt and Renjun tried his best to not stare at Jeno’s chest. Renjun rolled his eyes while walking closer to Jeno, “What should we get for dinner? I checked you have nothing in your fridge.”

Jeno suddenly realized that he never actually filled his fridge with anything than alcohols. “Right, I just remembered I never had anything. Should’ve asked you to accompany me buying grocery first,” Jeno paused; thinking for a while. “Should we just order in?”

“Cool. How about pizza?”

“You want pizza?”

“Yeah, kinda craving for it now. Is that okay?”

“Of course. Wait a sec.” Jeno picked up his phone from the table and started to make an order for their pizza.

It did not take long for their pizza to arrive. Jeno received the box and paid for the order. He brought it to Renjun who had already sit on one of the chair near the window. Correct for Renjun’s guess, he could see the view of Eiffel tower from where he was sitting.

“I love the way the dining table was put here. We could see the Eiffel tower while we are eating. That’s so beautiful.”

Jeno only smiled at the statement. He let Renjun enjoyed the view before his eyes while eating his pizza. It was not long until his eyes shifted from the Eiffel tower to Jeno. Jeno mouthed a silent ‘why?’ at the action. Renjun just shook his head lightly while smiling then continued munching the bite of pizza on his hands. Jeno thought it was cute how Renjun held one slice of pizza with both of his hands, cheeks moving rhythmically while he chewed. Jeno chuckled.

“Why?” Renjun asked.

“Nothing. Come here, you always got something left on your mouth.” Jeno reached out his hand to Renjun’s face and rubbed the sauce at the corner of Renjun’s lips with his thumb, then he took a tissue to clean his hand.

“Thanks.” Renjun said, cheeks clearly turned pink for the action. Jeno’s heart felt warm to know he always had that kind of effect on Renjun.

Their dinner was finished around fifteen minutes after that. Renjun told Jeno he would clean the table. Jeno said no at first but Renjun insisted, and surely Jeno could never win over Renjun, so he just let the boy did it. Jeno walked to the other side of the kitchen and open the kitchen cabinet where he stored his wine. He took out one bottle of wine and brought two glasses with him to the sofa.

When Renjun finished the cleaning and he followed Jeno to the sofa, he found Jeno already lied down on the sofa; eyes closed. Jeno seemed to realize Renjun’s presence because he then opened his eyes and smiled to see Renjun standing in front of him. Jeno opened his arms wide to invite Renjun to join him. He made enough space for Renjun to lie down. Watching it all, Renjun’s cheeks turned so red. He was not prepared at all to be in such proximity with Jeno.

Jeno pulled Renjun’s arm, so he then fell to the sofa right to Jeno’s chest, “What are you so shy for? We already kissed, remember?”

Renjun was now lying down facing Jeno’s chest, legs were put in between Jeno’s. At the mention of the kiss they shared earlier at the exhibition, Renjun covered his face with his small hands; he was clearly so embarrassed. Jeno laughed, so satisfied seeing Renjun all red and adorable when he was embarrassed.

“Until when you’re gonna cover your face, huh? Let me see your red cheeks.” Jeno teased. Renjun hit Jeno’s chest; too strong that it made Jeno whimpered. “God, those little hands are so powerful. I forgot about it for a while.” Jeno reached for the back of Renjun’s head, lifted it a little and slipped his other hand under Renjun’s head, letting his head rest on his arm. Renjun nuzzled closer to Jeno’s chest, finding the warm he had longed for.

“I didn’t expect you would kiss me.” Renjun confessed. Jeno moved back his head to have a better view of Renjun under his chin.

“Why is that? I was hoping you caught the codes that I asked you out for a date, though.”

“I was afraid, honestly.”

“For what?”

“Reading the codes wrong,” Jeno furrowed his brows, and when he did not say anything, Renjun continued, “Remember the night you dropped by at my place? I was just thinking that maybe I took a wrong interpretation of the way you treated me.” Renjun only stared at Jeno’s chest; how it went up and down as the effect of Jeno’s breathing. He did not dare to look at Jeno in the eyes.

“Renjun, look at me.” Renjun did not move. “Babe?”

Renjun usually cringed at people throwing pet names for their couple, but when it came out from Jeno’s mouth, he realized how much he liked it; how he wanted to hear it again and again. “Say it again,” Renjun finally looked up to find Jeno’s eyes. “Call me once again, Jeno.”

What Renjun wanted was what he got. When Renjun asked for something, Jeno was always willing to give it all, so he repeated, “Babe.”

Renjun smiled; lips tainted pink and Jeno could not hold himself to not lean in and caught those plump and small lips with his. Renjun’s lips was softer than cotton candy, sweeter and intoxicating more than any wine could do. Jeno deepened the kiss; not wanting the sparks of euphoria on his chest disappeared. Renjun circled his arms around Jeno’s neck, his fingers played with Jeno’s hair; all of him was falling to the sensation Jeno gave. Jeno kissed him gently, no rush, no lust. The kissed tasted very sweet than cinnamon, and Renjun could feel so much loved. Jeno always succeeded to make him feel loved.

Jeno broke the kiss first. He felt the firework inside his chest when he looked at Renjun’s lips; red and glossy from his doing.

“That night, you didn’t take it wrong. I was going to kiss you at the moment, before I suddenly hesitated.”

Renjun looked at Jeno’s eyes, arms still on Jeno’s neck. “Why did you hesitate?”

“I wasn’t sure with myself.” Jeno’s voice was so small; like a child who was afraid to admit his wrongdoings. Renjun rubbed the back of Jeno’s neck; gave him reassuring that everything was okay.

“Then what made you so sure to kiss me tonight?”

“Remember about the video of us strolling around that I uploaded on YouTube? I was checking the comment section, and saw one comment that made me thinking the whole night.” Renjun was interested. He fixed his position to listen more to Jeno. “They said I didn’t usually laugh often in the other videos, but they found me laugh a lot in that video. They said that I had such a beautiful laughter, and wished me to laugh more. They said they liked it to watch the video with the sound of us conversing even it was in a language that they didn’t understand. They could feel the excitement of us strolling around; made them enjoy the video even more.” Renjun smiled with teary eyes. He did not expect that they could make other people feel so much emotion just from a strolling video.

“That was such a touching comment, Jeno. It was beautiful.”

“I know. That comment stuck in my head for the whole night, and while I re-watched all the videos I filmed when we were together, I realized that they were right. I laughed a lot when I was with you, Renjun.”

“I should really send some gratitude to the one who wrote that comment. Thanks to them I got a boyfriend now.”

They both laughed while finding themselves in each other’s eyes. The sound of their laughter filled the room. Jeno could see from his position how the stars sparkled even more beautiful that now he could enjoy it with the love of his life lying in his embrace. But after all, for him, the stars in Renjun’s eyes were always more beautiful and soothing to see.

Jeno rubbed Renjun’s back up and down, then he kissed Renjun’s crown. “You know, I think, stuck down in Paris during rainy day wasn’t actually bad at all. Maybe I could start to like rain a little, too.”

Renjun smiled at Jeno for the implication of their first encounter. Renjun looked at Jeno’s mole under his right eye. He had been thinking about kissing that cute little mole too much, and now he could kiss it anytime he wanted. Renjun cupped Jeno’s face then leaned in to kiss Jeno’s mole before taking Jeno’s lips for another open-mouthed kiss. He could kiss him again tomorrow, and the next days after tomorrow. They could kiss slowly as they had all the time in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> this prompt has lived rent free in my head for months, and I wouldn't go anywhere if I didn't tell [@jenoivres](https://twitter.com/jenoivres) about it one night. thank you so much for always listening to all my ramblings during the writing process; for helping me find this and that, and inspiring me in a lot of things. those four days of writing were so much fun because you were there! (when I said you reminded me of Jeno and Renjun, you might find out the reason through this fic ♡). merci beaucoup mon chéri! I hope I do justice for the beauté of Paris! and thank you for the playlist you made for me, it helped a lot to build the vibe of Paris when I wrote this fic 💖 also for my love [@bydreamies](https://twitter.com/bydreamies), thank you so much for always willing to listen, always encouraging me to try, welcoming me with open arms. thank you for willing to be my first reader; giving me meaningful inputs and supports despite all the hard days you've had 🥺 thank you so much, I don't know if I would ever try anything if I didn't have your support 🥺 I love you lots 💞
> 
> for anyone who wants to share your thoughts with me <3 :  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/23RJSMR) | [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.qa/amerencano)


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